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Friday, September 21, 2012

Simplicity and Normalcy

Nothing delights me more than to hand a delicious treat to my Pickles.

My delight is only magnified when that treat tastes, well, normal. And made with normal ingredients? There are no words.

I used to mess around with a mix of "specialty" gluten-free flours, starches and gums to make Chocolate Chip Cookies that were Pickle-friendly. One day I decided that I just wanted to simplify. My "Ingredient Minimalist" instincts kicked in full throttle. I was determined to make a cookie with ingredients that were not only wholesome and easily sourced but were also pretty much always available in my pantry. And the recipe itself certainly must be no-fuss, quick and easy. The flavor must be in no way compromised or come out with a funky after taste. My sights were set on a tender chewy cookie rimmed with a crunch and filled with melty chocolate and oven toasted pecans. Essentially I wanted a perfect cookie with perfect ingredients.

I was delighted to find that it was a much easier challenge than what I had geared up for. So easy, in fact, I had to bake up a handful of batches to make sure I wasn't missing the hard part somewhere. I wasn't missing it. We were soon enjoying simple and normal cookies--for real!

We all loved our new cookies, and even shared them with friends who don't need to eat allergen-free.
They commented before knowing the ingredients, "These taste good!"
Their verdict after knowing they were 'free? "These taste normal!"
Oh happy day! We had gone full circle and come back to the ingredients we knew best. And these cookies were waiting for us the whole time!

The Simple and Normal Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookie:

1 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cup White Basmati rice flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup refined coconut oil, melted

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process rolled oats and rice flour until oats are broken down into flour. (I ran mine for about 3 minutes.) Add baking soda, salt, and sugars and process again until completely mixed.

2. Add eggs, vanilla, and oil, and process again until mixture is well combined.

3. Pour cookie dough mixture into a bowl and stir in nuts and chocolate chips.

4. Scoop out rounded teaspoonfuls and roll into balls, placing on a lightly greased baking tray.

5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 7-8 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Remove from oven and cool on the tray for 2 minutes before removing to cooling racks to completely cool.

6. Store in airtight containers. I have no guarantees how long these can last. They nearly evaporate around here!

Makes about 6 dozen 2" cookies...give or take the few snatched up by eager little taste-testers!

A food intolerance issue was the start of being aware of what it takes to nourish a little body, our little Pickle. Intentional nourishment, with a colorful sprinkling of randomness, became our theme. This blog is where we explore and experiment doing and making things that nourish body, mind, and soul.

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All photos and content on this blog are my personal property. I am absolutely thrilled if you make a recipe, try a Pickle project and enjoy it! I am not thrilled if you in any way claim as your own the content that you find here. Please link back here to Feeding Pickle if you want to share! And do share!

I may find a recipe or informative article that I really want to share with you and will direct you to another site. But that is all I am sharing from another site. I do not claim responsibility for any sites to which I may link. While I try to share only tasteful (in many ways) sites, I cannot guarantee whatever else that you may find there.